Celebrating the Holidays at Center on Halsted

Chicago Mayoral Candidate Rahm Emanuel with Matt Tobel (left), Zach Zimmerman '10 (center) and Northwestern Public Interest Fellow Lakshmi Nemani (right)

On Friday, December 10th, Center on Halsted hosted a Holiday Reception for donors, corporate & foundation sponsors, local business owners and patrons to help kick off the holiday season. The event was a huge success with over 400 attendees who were able to tour the Center, learn about all of the programs & services we offer and meet the staff who makes it all possible. Although many of our donors and sponsors have toured the Center before, this was the first time they were given a behind-the-scenes tour of our mental health suites, the State of Illinois HIV/STD/AIDS Hotline Room, and our Youth Space. We also used the Holiday Reception as an opportunity to announce the launch of the nation's first Homesharing Program for LGBT senior citizens. This revolutionary program will help keep LGBT older adults in their homes and provide companionship and support during an otherwise lonely and stressful time in their lives.

The highlight of the evening was when Rahm Emanuel, former Chief of Staff to President Obama and current Chicago Mayoral candidate, stopped by to greet our staff. Rahm has been an ardent supporter of the LGBT community and helped secured federal money to build Center on Halsted in 2007.

All in all the night was a great opportunity for Center on Halsted staff, supporters and patrons to gather together and celebrate our collective accomplishments for the year. I can't believe its already been 5 months at the Center and I'm looking forward to many more great memories to come!

Coming up at Center on Halsted:

January 2011, "By Women For Women" luncheon and comedy show

February 2011, On the Red Carpet Oscar Party

May 2011, Human First 2011 Gala at the Harris Theatre in Millennium Park

Happy Holidays from the best P55 City!

As the calendar year wraps up I figured it's a good time to blog a few of my general thoughts. I guess this notorious Chicago winter has started, and being from New England, I am not really intimidated by the low temperatures and snow, but what has surprised me is the way lifelong Chicagoans respond (mostly by complaining). Not that New Englanders don't complain also, but I've always thought of a rough winter as a badge of honor. I don't know, as one of Steve's long john-sporting roommates, I've been enjoying the sport of getting pumped to go out in these brutal temperatures. The air tastes better, and that cold certainly wakes you up in the morning.

(Speaking of sports, I've also become the office goat for football jokes, given that the Patriots came to Chicago and stomped the Bears last week.)

Anyways, this city is the best. The community out here has been tremendous, with the connection and seminar network of UChicago and Northwestern fellows making for a fine assortment of companions. I know our phenomenal Thanksgiving potluck was a success, and I look forward more school-spanning social events in the new year. When you are in school, you have the particular advantage of having thousands of people in your age range and situation in life to draw on, but in a city you have a random assortment of whoever you can find. The larger fellowship community out in Chicago at least gives you that common ground with a bunch of interesting folks.

This is certainly an interesting time to be here, with the mayoral race heating up. While I can't offer a prediction, I might make a few general observations. Chicago is a very segregated place, by both race and class, and what has surprised me these last few months is how people from certain parts of town have literally no idea what is going on in other parts. The average Lakeview resident for example has no idea what is going on in Lawndale, the neighborhood on the West Side I work in, and vice versa. So I wonder how this territorial city is going to be held together in the next regime, and what role identity politics are going to play. But hey, I've only been here four months, so I'll leave the political forecast to the pundits.

My organization is an interesting little place, and I cannot be happier to come in to an office where every morning people ask me how I'm doing, and they seem genuinely interested in the answer. While the mundane frustrations about non-profit organizations are certainly present, and do pile up from time to time, it is the few times when you can see the direct impact of your work that make it all worth it. I didn't know much about workforce development or ex-offender re-entry before coming to the North Lawndale Employment Network, but I'm glad to have learned as much as I have. I'll end this post with a little anecdote:

My other roommate, Mike (a fellow from last year who stayed on as an employee of NLEN) and I are transit pals, naturally, except on nights when he works late. Occasionally, coming out of work, we'd see this one guy, who would always ask us for change. We kept turning him down, but eventually saw this one guy enough times that we got to talking about our jobs, and encouraged him to come in to our Resource Center and look for work. He told us, "But I've got a felony background," which is of course, NLEN's specialty. Just this week, I'm happy to say he started work. I guess it's important to keep those types of stories in mind, when the routine is getting me down.

Happy holidays, everybody. Looking forward to a great 2011 in a city in the midwest, best city in the whole wide wide world.

First Weeks at Choices

Recently, I introduced the practice of journaling to our youth participants at Choices and decided to follow their example and begin to blog. It is amazing how quickly these first 6 weeks have passed and how much a part of the Choices team I already feel.

Choices provides services to court involved youth that include an after-school program, educational monitoring, and guidance, to name a few. Since my first day, I have been partnering with various members of the Choices team to do school and home visits, becoming familiar with areas of the city I had never been to before, such as Brooklyn and Washington Heights. The school visits allow me to put a face to the voices of the guidance counselors and attendance coordinators from all over Manhattan and Brooklyn that I speak to regularly as we brainstorm ways to improve attendance or resolve any school related issues the participant may be facing. Each youth faces his or her own unique circumstances, and I find more often than not seeking different solutions, be it an alarm clock or childcare for young mothers. I could not have asked for better support than the exceptional guidance I receive from the Choices staff to lead me through this process. I am consistently impressed with the ease with which they navigate the many complex situations of our youth and find innovative ways to reach out to them.

I look forward to sharing more of my experiences. Happy Holidays!

Reflections

With a new class of fellows applying for my position I have had a wave of email inquiries asking about my position. It is exciting that others are interested and it has also forced me to take a moment to reflect on what I've been working on and what I think about my work. I thought I'd share some of these thoughts with the blog.

My favorite and least favorite parts of my job

One of my favorite parts of the jobs is that I have the opportunity to be involved in projects from the beginning to the end. I'm not just doing background research or just writing up results. Having the opportunity to be a part of each phase has made me invested in the work and taught me about what goes into research. Also the staff that I work closest with is very small (there are 5 of us on the center team--we have staff in 5 different research sites in the US and we are like the headquarters) so I am very involved. I feel like my work matter and makes a direct impact on what we as an organization are able to produce. I think part of this is due to my boss, who makes a great effort to engage me throughout the process and account for my own interests. She offers great guidance and is a really wonderful person to work under.

The hardest part of my job that I’ve had to adjust is spending the majority of my time in an office. Now that things have gotten busy around here I am busy going to meetings and interviewing families in the emergency room to help build our dataset. I am treasuring the days that I can stay in my office to get work done. Since Children's HealthWatch research is health policy research a lot of that happens on the computer...doing literature searches, planning analyses, searching for outside data sets, writing etc. This has been an adjustment from college life where you are up and about all the time.


The PP55 community in Boston

I have two mentors who are from the class of '98 and '00. They compliment each other well--one is very interested in what I'm thinking about and interested in my projects at work. He's been great for bouncing around ideas about my work projects. My other mentor is in her final year of residency and has been really great at giving me suggestions of ways to settle into a new city and meet new people. They are very accessible to me and eager to email and chat, but I haven't felt like I've needed to rely on them for much. I think the greatest sense of support I've found was in our first seminar about graduate school. This seminar was with the Harvard equivalent of PP55 and alums were invited to speak. It was more of a casual discussion than a lecture, which I have really appreciated. I found it very helpful to hear about the experiences of people a couple of life stages ahead and learn how they came to be where they are.


Preparation for my job

I definitely felt prepared for the work I am doing. Though I have definitely had to learn a lot about the health programs and policy we focus the most on, but I certainly felt like I had the skills to do this coming out of college. My writing is also being challenged and because I am no longer long writing research papers. I am learning to write policy/advocacy pieces which are not something I learned in college.


Would I accept this position if I did it over again?

Yes, definitely!

Just about five on the Fellowship clock

The air's chilling, my roommates are donning long johns... it's winter-time in Chicago [to the tune of 'Silver Bells'].

And with winter's chill comes ample time for reflection. With reflection, our minds naturally turn, at first, to the individual moments that remain lodged in memory.

night time walks to the gym, shortening the stride to account for the sheet of ice on the sidewalk


fun and Fellow-ship in a Thanksgiving potluck feast


the Salvation Army post on State & Washington, who has just begun to ring his bell


the screech of the El, hopping on at rush hour, and being informed, there's a train directly behind us, so feel free to stay a minute more, and delay your descent from Downtown


sipping a drink with the mentor, discussing the finer works of Jane Austen, J.R.R. Tolkien... and Michael Crichton


sifting through research [flip from Acrobat to the Word, and then to the notepad by your side, and back again], making sense, connecting pieces of the puzzle, and alternating between trying to tell a story, and informing the reader of what's there


All this is to say, it's been pretty good so far.

One of the things that I'm learning while in education is the importance of systemic reform. At Advance Illinois, we're not infrequently using that term. It's taken me a little while to figure out; now, I liken it to a juggler trying to keep plenty of different balls in play. The red balls? That's making sure the state's educators are effective: strengthening preparation, evaluation, certification processes; working to make sure teacher performance plays a greater role. The yellow balls? That's setting expectations high and giving appropriate support: what are the expectations for a child entering kindergarten? The blue balls? That's encouraging innovation and accountability: can we measure conditions for learning throughout the state, and not just in Chicago?

The key is the juggling, the multi-tasking, the synchronizing. There's no silver bullet, no magic initiative. You've got to keep all of those balls in the air at once.

I suppose that's applicable to life as a Fellow in a new city, as well. Work. Friends. Routines. The future. Life itself is its own juggling act, as well, keeping all of those priorities in order... keeping all the balls in the air.  Maybe next month, I'll add another ball to the mix. (I don't yet dare try to go behind the back.)

Knitting in North Lawndale

It's been awhile since I've blogged, but it's definitely not because nothing has been happening here at Better Boys Foundation - quite the opposite, actually! It seems as though each department expands and changes daily, so it can be hard to keep track of things at times. Project LEAD, our elementary-age program, has been holding monthly fundraisers to supplement their budget, including a very successful Haunted House for Halloween. BBF has been selected to be the lead site for an Illinois Governor's initiative to stop neighborhood violence. And upstairs in YouthLAB, where I spend most of my time, our apprenticeships are in full swing.

This fall, BBF is offering six paid apprenticeships that youth can participate in. Half of our apprenticeships are through a program called After School Matters, which was started by soon-to-be-out-of-office Mayor Daley's wife; the other three are run on the same model, but solely through BBF. Currently, we offer apprenticeships in film design, beginning tap dance, advanced tap dance, literary magazines, bike repair, and knitting. I teach the knitting class.

11 high schoolers (2 boys, 9 girls) and myself meet twice a week to learn how to knit. I've been knitting off and on since around age nine; it really picked up my freshman year of college, however. I've been able to use the skills I developed with this hobby to teach my high schoolers a wide variety of skills. None of them had ever knit before, and the first few sessions were a struggle, especially as I attempted to spread one of me, giving individualized, hands-on instruction, across an entire classroom. We're now in the final month, and the improvement is absolutely amazing. Every student has finished their first project (a "dishcloth") and has moved on to their choice of a second - a hat, a scarf, or a pair of wristwarmers. They chose their own yarn, worked with me to choose the correct pair of needles, and are working on learning to read patterns and pay attention to detail. The improvement is truly astounding, but what strikes me most is their eagerness not only to learn but also to teach.

As I mentioned, the kids get paid for participating in this program. I assumed that, as high schoolers, they'd be primarily interested in the money, not the skill - but of course, I was wrong. I frequently have students coming into my office to sit and knit outside of class time, and about half of them knit through the breaks they are given. Many have asked me for needles so they can practice at home. I tend to play a movie or the radio to provide some background noise, yet I never have any problems with keep the kids on task, and they knit while they talk or watch or listen. More than that, they are eager to help each other. When I am teaching a new skill, I often have kids who already know it asking to do the teaching. Some of them have begun recognizing where mistakes have been made in each others knitting, and helping to correct them. Even with the most complicated projects, when one student calls my name, asking for help, another often has solved the problem before I get there. I had high hopes for my knitting class, but I expected to only be teaching the physical skill of knitting. Turns out, I'm teaching a lot more than that, without even trying.

Tigers, Tigers Burning bright

I own a ridiculous amount of Princeton paraphernalia. Between four years of p-rades, countless studybreaks and res college events, and the free cross country team gear, I could probably survive for a frighteningly long time wearing only orange and black. This means that when I go running, I'm more often than not wearing something that identifies my affiliation with Princeton. I often see other people in Princeton gear, and sometimes we make eye contact and I give a knowing smile.

When I run before work, I'm typically in a bit of a haze. At the start of my run, the sun isn't up and most of my brain is still asleep, too. Today, right as I turned into central park, I caught up to a man running ahead of me. He looked pretty goofy with his thin white hair sticking out of his wool hat with a tassel on top. He was wearing a Princeton sweatshirt. I was wearing a Princeton Cross Country vest. As I pulled even with him, he startled me by yelling,

"Princeton! Class of '59!"

I turned and yelled back "class of '10!".

He yelled after me "Go tigers!"

If only I'd stopped to give him a locomotive...next time!

Trip to Episcopal HS

My mentor was sweet enough to invite me over to her home at Episcopal HS for dinner before Thanksgiving. Since I am without a car, I thought it might be fun to hop on my bike and make an adventure of it. Well, it was definitely an adventure. Apparently not all bike paths have lights - go figure, and it is much easier to follow directions when there are actual signs. It was a ton of fun though, and I'm so happy I did it. The mentoring program is so fun! She even gave me cake, and made me healthy cranberry, carrot bread.

Work Friends

Lately I've just been feeling really thankful for my work friends! I work with a great group of people who are upbeat, warm, hilarious, and smart. Yesterday I had a stressful morning in the Bronx (long story). On my way back on the subway, I sent my friends (a group of nurses and social workers) a message describing my adventures. They met me outside the office, and we went to Chipotle for lunch, one of our favorite destinations. (I highly recommend the chipotle-flavored Tabasco sauce!) After chatting with them, I instantly felt so much better. It's not just the occasional lunch outing and vent session that makes me appreciate them, though. Throughout the day, we pop into each other's offices just to chat and check on each other. We're even doing a little holiday gift swap. I am so thankful that I work with people who can make me laugh even in the most stressful situations!

Unexpected Mini-Break

For the first time in a long while, Idil and I realized this morning that we have nothing to do, no ongoing projects to tackle! For the past couple of months, we had been busy doing time studies, phone reports, running a- mini-farmer’s market, helping patients get insurance, shepherding the Ob/Gyn department in the switch from paper charts to electronic medical record keeping, the list goes on. As we finished the tail end on our mini-projects list (preparing documents for the Residents that list their patients), we realized that for this day at least, we have nothing to do.

Our next project coming up promises to be exciting. From the move to a bigger building to the expansion of the patient population, the health center is constantly expanding. We have been hiring new doctors to help accommodate the rising demand for appointments. The trickle down effect is that staffing also needs to increase to keep up with the patients coming to see the new providers. One solution to the staffing demand would be to shuffle current staff around. On Monday Idil and I will be receiving schedules for training to become medical assistants. After the training, part of our duties would be to spend about a day each week helping process patients in one of the three departments (adult medicine, peds, ob/gyn). I am especially looking forward to this experience because not only will we be directly helping out the departments, we finally get to interact face-to-face with patients.

We are savoring this day of mini-rest by posting to the blog, bugging our office mate to help her with some of her workload, and taking a deep breath before diving into the next new thing.

Work work work

December has arrived and with it more and more work! As Foundations approaches the February Beyond School Hours conference (in Atlanta, GA), much of my work is going to be centered around preparing for that. The department I'm working in actually uses the conference as a way to get staff together from the eight "sites" we work with across the country (I'm sure you ALL remember my first post that we work to help get kids reading on grade level by grade 3). So far, all I know is that I have to make posters and help register people, I think, and make sure the technology works and things run smoothly. I have no real planning experience (and I've thrown about three parties in my life) so it's a bit scary, but I'm eager to learn.

I'm not a hugely social person (as evidenced by my lack of party throwing), but I can't wait to meet all of the people I've only so far heard over the phone. We have conference calls all of the time, so I have these mental pictures of various principals, literacy coaches, and others working in schools and districts.

I don't know how much other PP55 fellows have had to deal with commuting, but commuting has turned from totally fine to totally terrible in the span of the 4ish months I've been working. In July and August, driving home at 5:30 wasn't bad--it was as if I had found the "sweet spot" in the span of rush hour and I always got home at around 6:10. Labor Day came around and everyone decided to start working again (teachers?) which destroyed my morning commute and forced me to start leaving 10 minutes earlier (which is devastating to someone who savors every minute of sleep in the morning). But the moment daylight saving(s) time ended, it became pitch black at 5:30. This means everyone drives more slowly and/or more anxiously, and every moment on parts of my drive is like an accident waiting and wanting to happen. Now I get home at around 6:30.

Okay I'm complaining way too much about it, but I had to get it out. It also makes me feel super adult to talk about commuting. Over Thanksgiving I didn't sit at the kids table and I totally talked about my commute with my aunts and uncles. All I need now is a husband and kids (HA).

I should mention that in November I was able to go into Philadelphia to the library at their Regional Foundation Center, with my PP55 mentor. So many great free resources at the library! As Arthur Read says/sings, "Having fun isn't hard when you've got a library card!" We then ate at Di Bruno Bros. which may have had the best cheeseburger I've ever tasted.

Tomorrow I'm going into the city again to learn how nonprofits survive in a recession (because seriously, I'm amazed at how well we've done).

The chemical team

When I first started my position in July I was one of the two members of the health department at EDF and the other one was my boss. In early September we welcomed another member of the team and the whole dynamic has changed. Our work has become more team-oriented and it occurred to me that, in the case of adding another colleague, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts (a common phrase about biological organisms!) It is also immensely helpful for me because my new-ish coworker, Jennifer, is in a superb position to give me advice. She recently received her PhD in microbiology before spending a year on capital hill as a AAAS fellow. We share an interesting perspective on the role of science outside of the research world and struggle with many of the same questions, even though she is in the next phase of her career. My discussions with her are always very thought-provoking and, although I can't say I've reached any sort of conclusions yet, I'm gathering a ton of information on different ways to mesh science and policy. She recently brought me along to a dinner for Scientific Women Against Toxics (SWAT - ha!), which I knew I really must go to even though I had just returned from an exhausting trip. I met quite a few interesting people in a relaxed environment and I am eager to attend the next meet-up.

I would also like to echo other fellows' sentiments about the helpfulness of the Project 55 network. The professional development opportunities are much appreciated and my contact with other fellows and alums has introduced me to a lot of great opportunities in DC. Even though I'm in DC for two years, it already seems to be going by too quickly!

Just a random comment in case anyone is interested - apparently the National Zoo has a fantastic light display over the holidays AND it's free this year!
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ActivitiesAndEvents/Celebrations/zoolights/default.cfm

Back to It

Phew! It's been awhile. I’ve been a bit delinquent with blogging recently. Well, not blogging generally, but blogging here. My hands have been rather full with maintaining my organizations’ blog and social media footprint, in addition to various other responsibilities.

So, while the IIC blog is not exactly a reflection on my experience as a fellow, it is a window into it! If it sounds like I’m about to justify killing two birds with one stone…well…I promise a more personal post soon! For now, http://getgiving.wordpress.com/

Corporate Social Responsibility is the focus of the current series of posts, which were inspired by an article that ran last August in The Wall Street Journal. The article, by Dr. Aneel Karnani of University of Michigan, caused quite a stir in the nonprofit blogosphere.

As a social enterprise offering both corporations and individuals an innovative new philanthropic tool, IIC is naturally interested in the debate around corporate social responsibility. So come on over, and add your thoughts to the conversation!

Life at CEP

Hello everyone!

Now that the Forum is over, things have definitely calmed down around CEP.  We had a whirlwind week in San Francisco hosting our 17th National Forum on Character Education, and it was a blast. More than 600 teachers, counselors, administrators, researchers, and community leaders attended the conference and, though I didn’t get much sleep, I must say that it was wonderful to meet tons of new people and learn more about the character ed. movement.



Most of November at CEP was spent doing Forum follow-up work, including conducting post-event feedback surveys and figuring out bills from several tours and the conference hotel.


Now that December is upon us, it’s already time to start planning the 2011 Forum! We’ve started looking into possible keynote speakers and have begun arranging next year’s schedule.  Leif's been contacting exhibitors who are already interested in exhibiting at the next Forum. 


In other CEP news, all National School of Character (NSOC) applications are due today, so things will soon get busy as we begin selecting our 2011 NSOCs!


Hope everyone else is having a wonderful fellowship year!

November is almost over

Hmmm I haven't blogged in a while but watching my roommate write posts for her blog and reading other people's great posts have given me some blog-envy and moved me to write. After having tiptoed into the colder months with what I assume was unusually amazing weather for October in Chicago, winter is finally upon us. Fortunately, I've had the foresight to save the restaurants directly in and right around Wicker Park for the wintertime so I'll still be motivated to try new food establishments when it gets disgusting outside. Chicago just got a Michelin guide so hopefully I'll be able to explore some of the highlights soon! I've also been making regular visits to the Art Institute and am becoming quite good at navigating the CTA.

At work, I've routinely started going out in the field to do energy audits-- this consists of traveling all over (the south side, the north side, the western suburbs) and is giving me the opportunity to see parts of the city (and boiler rooms) that I otherwise would not have ventured into. Last month, I got to audit the Greater Chicago Food Depository which is an amazing 270,000 square foot facility built specifically as a warehouse to store food for distribution to pantries, soup kitchens and shelters all over Cook County. I got to see all of their kitchens and giant refrigerators and even got to 'inspect' the roof. It was a very impressive operation and while I'm not sure there's much we can do for the energy efficiency of the building (they thought a lot about that while designing the building), it was fun to get the deluxe tour. Our program normally works with residential buildings, so on a more day-to-day basis, I meet with building owners/property managers and review their heating equipment and units. These visits are followed up with reports detailing suggested retrofits with cost analysis, financing assistance and bid solicitation/construction oversight with contractors. The split between field work and office work is something that I'm really enjoying about my job at CNT Energy so far.

Thanks!

I can't believe it's almost the end of November. Even though Thanksgiving was a few days ago, I've decided to use this post as a space to share what I'm thankful for.

1. I'm incredibly thankful for my fellowship at Umoja.

November has been super busy for me. The Writers Workshop has been moving along (mainly smoothly but with a few bumps in the road). Much of the responsibility for the program is in my hands now. It's strange/exciting to be setting meetings, creating agendas, really lead-facilitating, and making decisions about how I would like the group to be run. I'm already starting to think about what I want the next semester to look like. I've also been helping out with student leadership on Wednesdays. It's fun to get to know some more of the students within the school, get further practice facilitating, and work within a different realm of Umoja. The job is exhausting and as supportive as the staff is, it really helps to know that I have the support of my family... which brings me to my next point.

2. I'm thankful for my family.

I love that my family is available to talk, troubleshoot, etc. whenever I need them.

It was too expensive to fly home for Thanksgiving and Christmas so I decided to just fly home for Christmas. My sister came to visit me in Chicago for the week of her Thanksgiving vacation. It was a lot of fun showing her around (I took her to the November open mic at Manley where I work) , and doing touristy things such as seeing (and taking a picture on) the Sky Ledge of the Willis (prev. Sears) tower. She was impressed with my cooking and thought I was more mature!

3. I'm thankful for my mentor and her generosity.

My mentor, Becky, happened to be at Umoja on Tuesday. While we were catching up, I mentioned to her that my sister was in town. Becky asked me what we were doing for Thanksgiving and I said we were just going to have a small dinner at my place. Without hesitation, Becky asked me if we would like to come over to her house for Thanksgiving dinner. After I discussed it with my sister, we decided to take Becky up on her offer. It was really nice spending time with Becky's family and friends. Even though I was not with my own family, I was in such good company. Becky's sister even asked me if I wanted to spend Christmas with her family! (too bad I'll be back in NYC)

4. I'm thankful for the awesome people around me.

Chicago is a really great city and I'm glad this is where I've begun my professional life. The city's really easy to navigate, the people are super friendly (something my sister could not get over... if only New Yorkers could be so nice), and there is so much to do.

The fellows from Princeton, U Chicago, and Northwestern have really come together. There was a Thanksgiving dinner (hosted by two awesome Princetonian fellows) and it was a big success. I've attached a picture from that night. It's nice to have a sort of built-in social network since I'm not from Chicago and did not come here knowing many people.

I appreciate knowing that I can voice any concerns (though I haven't had to do so) to P55 folks back in Princeton or our Chicago contacts.

Happy Thanksgiving!

One of my favorite stories to tell about reunions is this: my sophomore year, I saw a young alum standing alongside the P-rade. She held a sign as the older alums walked past: "Thanks for the Job!" For the more recent classes, she flipped it around. It now read: "Have Job, Need Husband."

I don't think I'd ever have her guts (and I'm very, very not ready for a husband yet), but I would like to take a moment to thank all of the people who make AlumniCorps possible. Thanks for the job, Happy Thanksgiving, and lots of locomotive cheers for everyone!

First Post... Finally

I am willing to say it: I am one of the happiest Project 55 Fellows I know. As an extremely superstitious person, I hesitate to “jinx” myself by declaring my happiness, because you never know when the fates will turn against you. However, my bizarre and blatant happiness has become a running joke amongst my friends and roommates, so I feel comfortable sharing it electronically with you all. Given this insane happiness, it is curious that I have waited until mid-November to blog, but ce la vie. Perhaps I was too busy smiling to log-in.

I guess I should start at the very beginning of my Fellowship with Education Through Music and branch out from there. Forgive me for the rambling nature of this long post; shorter and more frequent posts in the future--I promise!

When I moved to the city in September (two days before my start date), I was terrified. As I unpacked my boxes, my mind reeled with questions: What if they don’t like me? What if I loathe my day-to-day tasks? What if I am attacked by rabid dogs on my way to the subway and die before I can clock in for my first day? These concerns haunted me as I attempted to unload all of my stuff into my 6x10 room with no windows. I had never held a true 9-5 job for longer than a summer, and my stomach turned just as I imagined the grim possibilities.

In reality, my first day was rabid-dog free and absolutely fantastic. The instant I entered the ETM office, I was surrounded by smiling faces. I think the most amazing thing I have discovered about the non-profit sector is that: everyone has warmth in their eyes. Smart, driven, and passionate people exist everywhere, but I found that the warmth in the ETM office was something I had not yet encountered in a workplace environment.

I also could not have asked for a more welcoming schedule; I spent the first part of the day talking with our HR representative and going over logistics. Then, I observed some teacher training sessions led by ETM’s Director of Programs, Peter Pauliks. My start date coincided with the annual ETM training boot-camp for our music teachers, and so I got to meet all of our music teachers and get a detailed look at the program’s mission and process. Then, in the early afternoon everyone in the office headed out to a kick-off barbecue at one of our partner elementary schools. On my first day, the executive director of Education Through Music handed me a beer, and said “Welcome to our family, and relax!” Honestly? What could be better than that for a first-day on the first-job-out-of-college story?

I think that great non-profit organizations are formed by strong leadership, and our Executive Director, Katherine Damkohler, is a shining example of how positive energy and passion for a cause can infect others and motivate them to work hard for results. There is no competition between colleagues because ETM stresses teamwork to accomplish its goals. We support each other, because we all share the same passionate intensity for bringing music to inner-city school children. I mean, wow. Could this organization be a better fit for me? I don’t think so. Music has been integral to my education, my friendships, and my self-discovery and personal growth. I honestly do not know who I would have become without my experiences studying, performing, and celebrating music. Whenever I feel the slightest bit of fatigue or frustration creeping up on me as I work on an excel spreadsheet, I just think back to my personal experience. Competing in choral competitions, standing on the carnegie hall stage, singing duets with my best friend for 6 years in school concerts, traveling with my a-capella group, performing in musicals, learning to sightread and compose,or studying opera etc..... Some of my deepest friendships and hardest life-lessons came through studying music, and I absolutely believe that every child deserves to study music and learn all of the life-lessons that accompany that education.

So, I hit the ground running. One of my favorite things about ETM is the agency it gives its employees. From day 1 I was encouraged to think outside the box, speak up in meetings, and pursue my own projects. And--- I did. Within my first month, I had organized a few of my own initiatives for the organization, and I had even run my own fundraiser! I am sort of the “point person” for my project to expand/ advertise ETM to college campuses, and increase our “young/ student musician” base. I have also written articles for our quarterly ETM Newsletter; written my own promotional activities, and reached out to various contacts in the music industry and non-profit network. From the moment I was on staff, I felt that my co-workers valued my opinion and I was encouraged to offer my criticisms and comments. I have been really fortunate to see both sides of non-profit Development (grant writing and PR/personal relationships). My initiatives continue, and I have found that when you are spearheading a project for a cause you are extremely passionate about, you lose track of time and work really hard on it.

What I have learned about myself from this process thus far: when I believe in the mission of an organization, I can get a lot of people to do what I want. I mean, a LOT. Friends, family, strangers...everyone. Essentially, if you know me, then you are about to know about ETM. And if we are just meeting, you might walk away knowing more about my organization than about my background. I have always been a good salesperson (all of my past jobs have been in sales/customer service) but ETM has brought out a side of me that I didn’t even know I had. I guess, you could call me a crusader, now? I definitely miss academics (especially languages!) in some ways. The reading, writing, the heated debates-- ahh how I crave it! But ETM has given me something perhaps even more powerful than my love of academia---power to give back. My weeks fly by, I work through lunch breaks, because when you believe in the mission, it doesn’t feel like work. It just feels like the right thing to do. So, in conclusion: Thank you P55 for placing me with such an amazing organization.

I promise to post again soon! :)

To the Circus or shall I say Children's Socialization Group?

An unusual number of mothers arrive for the Thursday group intended to improve the children’s socialization skills. Indirectly though, the group permits my supervisor, a clinical psychologist, to observe how mothers are interacting with their children and intervene if there are any habits that might be detrimental to the child's development. Usually there are three staff members there to help lead the group, but unforeseen circumstances leave me alone with 7 mothers and their lively and loud children. By this time in the year, I know all the children by name, face, and giggle, but it is intimidating for me to be left in group mostly composed of mothers. Will it be awkward for mothers? Will the session ultimately be a prolonged silence interrupted only by a slight cough or shift in a chair?

After my supervisor serves the food to the families, she leaves to see a patient. I eventually make my way, constructing postmodern houses with foam blocks, playing plastic drums, and getting fed crackers and cheese by the kids. Sitting next to mothers, I inquire about their work weeks, their holiday plans, and their child’s progress. Surprisingly, one mother expresses how tired she is from working long hours at a corporation, especially now during the holiday season. Our conversation is mollified by the two-tooth smile of her young daughter, who now knows, according to the mother, where her mouth, nose, and ears are.

Wading through the blocks, puzzle pieces, jingly balls, and trinkets, I eventually make my way to the parachute my supervisor had purchased last week only to have all the children scared of its purples, pinks, and yellows, but this time as I grab its edges, other children draw close, curious to discover its use. Slowly, I lift my arms as the circle becomes a hemisphere bending and tilting in the air. The children that have gathered around scream in excitement as the colors slowly drift until they come to a rest. Unexpectedly, some of them look at where my hands are placed and grab hold of the edges. Then with anticipation in their eyes, they flap their small arms, sometimes unable to create enough momentum to send the parachute into the air. Before too long though, a mother approaches the parachute and helps send it flying through the air. Children dart underneath momentarily, sometimes preferring to remain there than return to the outside. Up and down, down and up, we wave our arms jumping beneath the descending blimp and jumping out just before it touches our heads. As the parachute lands one last time, I find it difficult to sing, “Clean up; clean up. Everybody do your share…,” since all I really want to do is keep the swirled circus roof in the air so we can all enjoy its fluttering wonders.

So far, so good

On Tuesday I went back to Princeton to participate in a panel sponsored by the Princeton Varsity Club, Alumnicorps, Princeton-in-Asia, Princeton-in-Africa, and Princeton-in-Latin America, which was designed to get more varsity athletes interested in these public interest programs.

It was nice to be back on campus for the first time, and I realized as I fielded questions from the audience, that I've already learned and experienced so much since graduating just a few short months ago. My p55 experience has allowed me to learn about the nonprofit sector as a whole and about working as part of a mission-driven organization.

There's nothing like telling a room full of people about the benefits of doing an Alumnicorps fellowship to reaffirm your own appreciation for the position. Being forced to articulate aspects of my experience so far (such as "what has been the most rewarding", etc) provided me the chance to reflect.

My visit to Princeton was a short as this blog post. It wasn't even long enough to stop by the Bent Spoon! But it was definitely worth it.

ps- Every year the NYT does a pull-out section on issues relating to charity and philanthropy. Last week, I read through all of the articles in this year's section and typed up a brief snapshot of the coverage. Check it out on the Foundation Center's PhilanTopic blog if you're interested! You can find the post here.

Meandering

Faded and tattered, the Puerto Rican flags strung from window to window flap in the wind, baring through each shred the blues of early morning. Passing under them on our way to the administrative offices, my supervisor and I acknowledge silently their haunting presence, as if their wraithlike bodies kept watch over a community similarly out of time and place.

As we make our way beyond this street, my supervisor stops to greet clients from the clinic on the street, which surprises me since confidentiality is so important at the clinic. For me it is a new kind of community outreach, one that goes beyond the walls of any institution and spills out onto where people shop, eat, and live. Casually checking in on clients, we stop and go in an unhurried rhythm until we reach the offices, but by then, I realize that the promenade was not intended to reach any particular destination but rather to reach out to clients that we hadn’t seen in a long time. On our way back, we take a different route, but in my mind I still see those rent flags from the other street and wonder if they solemnly still cling to the line that keeps them in place.

NewSchools and Waiting for Superman

This past summer, I moved to San Francisco to begin my fellowship at NewSchools Venture Fund, a venture philanthropy firm that invests in social entrepreneurs working to improve public education. In addition to supporting early stage organizations as they grow into sustainable solutions, NewSchools’ mission includes acting as a hub for education innovators – from school leaders to policymakers – to share best practices in order to more effectively drive systems change. As a non-profit that applies capitalist principles to solve problems yet seeks only social returns, NewSchools constantly confronts the challenge of attempting to gauge a new idea's functional value within the context of stark cultural, political and financial realities.

This fall, NewSchools partnered with Participant Media and Paramount Pictures on a variety of initiatives related to the release of the documentary Waiting for “Superman”. In addition to organizing and hosting screenings of the movie around the Bay Area and joining the film’s pledge progress meter, NewSchools is currently producing a short video to be included with the film's spring DVD release. As part of this project, I have traveled to New York City and Los Angeles as our team has conducted interviews with a diverse group of education experts – including Teach for America founder Wendy Kopp and Newark Mayor Cory Booker – as well as students, teachers and parents at innovative organizations such as School of One and KIPP LA Prep.

The personal side of clinical trials: life at the BCC

Pager buzzing frenetically in my hand, I jog through the hallways of UCSF’s Breast Care Center to consent a patient for one of the clinical trials that I am helping to coordinate. Breathless (and, admittedly, a tad nervous), I arrive at the door of the patient’s exam room, compose myself and knock. I hear a muffled “come in,” and I turn the handle.

This scene has repeated itself several times over my past four month’s at the Breast Care Center. What has not repeated itself is the scene I find on the other side of the door. Some patients are surrounded by a mob of friends; some are with sisters, partners, children; a few are alone. Some are in their 70s, and some are only two or three years older than I am. In the hour or so before I am paged, most have received the news that they have breast cancer, and so I often find tears or stunned gazes. But I also meet stoics, and the occasional patient whose response to meeting me is a broad grin and a joke about how young I look. As I discuss the trial with these patients, their responses are equally variable, and one of the most challenging aspects of my job this year has been learning how to guide and tailor these conversations for each patient and every situation.

For many of us, myself included, the words “clinical trial” have mixed connotations. We all benefit from successful clinical trials—they are the gold-standard by which we determine if new therapies are safe and effective. But these words also conjure stories of ethical misconduct, fibbed data, and incomplete analysis, not to mention the risks of untested treatments. Before I arrived at UCSF, I knew what clinical trials were. I understood the concepts of control arms, of double-blinding. I’d read about trials that had brought miraculous new drugs to market, and others that dragged on for years, eating millions of dollars, only to yield null results. But I had never really thought about how these trials are actually orchestrated. Who makes sure that extra study lab tests are run for study patients? Who dispenses experimental medications to patients? Who analyzes their specimens to determine how patients respond to new therapies? How does a patient’s complaint of nausea make its way, several years later, onto the list of expected side effects for a new drug? Who tracks patients five or ten years after they have completed treatment to assess survival? While a few doctors and scientists will write their names on the publications resulting from a trial, the entire operation of a trial actually involves a huge cast, a massive engine with interconnected parts. My job as clinical coordinator is to make sure that the spinning parts remain greased—I schedule appointments, I enter data, I answer patients’ questions about the trial, I make sure that patients, tissue specimens, chemo orders, physicians, etc. arrive at the right place at the right time and for the right purpose.

The trials I am helping to coordinate assess new chemotherapy drugs to treat breast cancer, as well as a host of biological markers, tests and imaging techniques. Our hope is that not only will we find new drugs to treat breast cancer with, but we will also figure out how to tailor treatments to individual patients, using the specific biology of the patient’s tumor as our guide (see a recent Wall Street Journal article about one of the trials I am working on here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703882404575520190576846812.html).

The broad scientific aims of these trials are certainly inspiring, but one of the unexpected benefits of my job is the relationships I’ve been able to build with patients. I see each of our study patients about once a week during her several months of chemotherapy. I hear about children and grandkids, I swap travel stories and eat home-made chow-mein. And I listen to each woman describe her experience on the physical and emotional rollercoaster that is breast cancer treatment. It is these personal connections that are ultimately the most rewarding aspect of my job.

Making a difference through play

A couple of weeks ago, I witnessed the conclusion of a project that continues to validate for me the importance of the work that CityBridge Foundation is doing in education. Two of my colleagues had for weeks been organizing a playground build at a local DC public school. While the school had playground equipment for the older children who attend the school, the three- and four-year-olds had only an empty fenced-in area where they could play with balls and hula-hoops. The staff at one of CityBridge's corporate partners would build an arts-themed playground for these kids over the course of two days, with the support of an organization called Learning Structures, which specializes in building playgrounds. I'd heard about the design for the playground: a large wooden play structure with towers, a climbing wall, a stage and a slide; a four-sided chalk easel; and a set of musical pipes that made noise when struck with a wooden block. But when I went to help out at the event with a few other CityBridge staff, I was blown away not only by the magnitude of the project but the dedication of the roughly 30 corporate volunteers.

On the Thursday before the build, I helped to haul what seemed like an endless pile of lumber from where it had been delivered down the street to the front of the school, in preparation for the volunteers to come on Friday. It was definitely hard work, but so fun to get out and work at the school; curious kids, parents, and teachers passed by every once in a while and asked us what we were up to, and were clearly excited when we told them we were building a playground.

I didn't attend the build on Friday, but when we pulled up at 7 am on Saturday morning, the frame of the playground structure was standing tall outside the school, the easel was almost completely together, and the music structure was finished. There was definitely a lot more work to do, though: putting together the floor of the stage, securing railings to the play structure, sanding and sealing the wood, affixing the slide. It was so awesome to see the volunteers pulling up early on a Saturday morning and getting so engrossed in the work. It was a long day, and I spent most of it either sanding or painting (no power tools for me!), or lending a hand on various other projects when needed. It was amazing to me that by 3 pm that afternoon, the entire playground had been finished: we watched as the last piece of wood was drilled into place, and then stood back to admire the work. The stage was the best part - on the back, one of the volunteers had painted a beautiful mural based on a Dr. Seuss drawing. A few teachers, the school principal, and a couple of kids with their parents were there throughout the day. It was incredibly gratifying to see the kids take a first ride down the bright red slide, and run across the play structure from tower to tower.

I was completely impressed with the powerful show of dedication and drive that got this playground built over the course of just two days. In a very tangible way, it showed how making a difference in the education of DC's children can occur in broad policy sweeps (a new teacher's contract, or a tougher teacher evaluation system, to name two), but also through smaller acts...like creating an amazing play space for a group of deserving kids.

Getting Settled In

I have had a couple of busy months recently. I moved into a new apartment at the beginning of October, which was an experience to say the least. Moving in New York can be a stressful experience, but overall the move was pretty successful. After breathing a huge sigh of relief, my roommate and I went straight to work to make our new place a much homier space. Upon hearing that I had moved, a receptionist at one of my assigned schools urged me to make my apartment my comfort space simply because “one needs to find a way to escape from the hustle and bustle of this city.” I have taken his advice very seriously and have made countless of trips to furniture stores, Target, Marshalls, TJMaxx, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, and Kmart. I must admit that I still have to get used to the rules of city shopping. I need to just come to terms with the fact that most stores only have a limited amount of items. I also have to acknowledge that the majority of stores do not honor weekly Sunday ads unless you bring them in. I guess these are the little things you learn as you try to search for home décor on a Princeton Project 55 budget.

Moving to a new neighborhood also has its perks. I am now living on the Upper West Side, which is full of shops, cheap restaurants, and bars. In addition, I am now very close to Riverside Park and able to go for an evening jog whenever I feel like it. However, the best part of my recent move is that I am literally 10 minutes away from work. It is quite amazing!

Things at work are also falling into place. Over the last five weeks, I managed to meet with every single one of my 89 students; I was quite proud of this accomplishment. I learned quite a bit a lot from this first cycle of visits. I now am aware of the logistical difficulties that may prevent me from meeting with students. Additionally, I now know that kids have such a short attention span, that you have to barrage them with reminder emails and phone calls. I am hoping that all of these strategies will make my second cycle of visits run smoothly. Overall, I finally feel that I am getting settled in and love it!

Rico the Pirate Chicken

In honor of the recent holiday, I thought it might be appropriate to tell a short story about this year's Halloween celebration at Bethel New Life's youth mentoring program. Like most good stories, it began with a folding table, fifteen round pumpkins about the size of a soccer ball, and many fistfuls of multi-colored feathers.

We wanted to give the kids in the program a creative activity for Halloween, and painting pumpkins seemed like a great one for the kids we serve, who range in age from five to fifteen. (The thought of carving the pumpkins, while a favorite seasonal activity of mine, with a dozen kids hopped up on Laffy Taffy and fun size Milky Ways scared me more than anything else this Halloween.) When we presented them, along with paper plate palettes of acrylic paint and two old shoe boxes filled with a random assortment of arts and crafts supplies, the kids clamored for the biggest and most misshapen pumpkins of the bunch. When the kids, all in ill-fitting plastic smocks that drooped from their shoulders, had finally settled back in their seats with their bulbous orange canvases waiting expectantly in front of them,  they picked up their paint brushes and got to work.

I'll pause here for a moment to let you all imagine, like I did that afternoon, what your typical painted pumpkin looks like. If you're anything like me, you're imagining pumpkins painted with crooked jack-o-lantern type smiles, green countenances made to look like witches or, with a defter hand, maybe even Frankenstein. Pretty standard, right?

This is not what we got.

I was sitting next to Bobby, a nine year old in the program, who'd asked me to help him with his pumpkin. Admittedly, Bobby is one of my favorite kids in the program -- he generously laughs and my terrible pun jokes and, even though he has a lot of trouble in school, he's one of the quickest and brightest kids I've ever met. While I watched in silent awe, Bobby immediately dug his hand into one of the old shoe boxes and pulled out a handful of artificial feathers and began taking them and stabbing them into the side of his pumpkin. After seven or eight feathers were sticking out from the sides and back of his creation, he turned to me and stated plainly: "It's a chicken."

I looked around the room to gauge the other kids' pumpkins, and saw them gingerly pouring glue and glitter onto the stems, winding pipe cleaners into antennae, and using paint as an afterthought. I turned back to Bobby, who was gently applying a layer of paint to each feather and had just completed a glittery construction paper beak. I asked him what his pumpkin's name was. He paused for a moment and said, "Rico. His name's Rico. He's a pirate chicken." With that declaration he added a large eye patch over to Rico's right eye and then continued working, making a stringy, frazzled beard for Rico out of some pipe cleaners and colored paper.

I am constantly amazed by the kids I get to work with in this program. They are smart, motivated, wickedly funny, living in a world outside the door of our classroom where they are constantly being told (by their friends and often even by their parents and teachers) that they shouldn't be any of those things. Many of them have no support, no one looking out for them, and no one telling them all the good reasons that they shouldn't sell drugs on the corner like their older brothers. Kids with less strength, with less of an ability to buck the system of failure inherent in this neighborhood, lose to drugs and crime every day on the Westside. So every day I see these kids show up at the door, wanting to come into our program, seems like a gift, another day that we've won over some seriously terrible odds.

Bobby signed the gluey, glittery plate under his pumpkin and told me that, when he was rich and famous, I could sell Rico for a million dollars.


Names, except for those of pirate chicken pumpkins, have been changed.

New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center

My fellowship at the Heads Up! Pediatric Literacy program takes me to nine of the program’s 11 clinic sites. In my next few posts, I’ll try to describe what it’s like to visit each one. Activities at each site are different, and that makes things interesting!

New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center: In 1992, the Heads Up! Program was founded here, and originally ran out of this hospital only. My office is here, so I order books and pay invoices for the entire program from this site. I usually spend just a few hours a day on these tasks, and am in Cornell’s clinic or at other program sites at other times.

There are two pediatric outpatient clinics in my building at Cornell. One is on the 3^rd floor, where my office is, and the other—the Medicaid clinic—is on the 5^th. Patients with private insurance are typically seen on the 3^rd floor, and those with government-issued insurance are typically found in the 5^th floor waiting room. (At least, this is how I think it works. The pediatric specialties also seem to run out of the 3^rd floor clinic.) The book program runs on the 5^th floor, but not the 3^rd.

It should not surprise me that the clinics look different, but it does. Recently renovated, the 3^rd floor boasts a colorful floor, fresh paint, and inviting murals. The waiting room is spacious, comfortable, and well stocked with magazines. The Medicaid clinic appears to see a larger patient volume and has a playroom, which the children love. But it also has some walls with chipped or dirty paint, and far fewer colorful, inviting features. At busy times, there also never seems to be quite enough seating for waiting patients and family members.

I chose this fellowship because I am troubled by health care disparities, and want to spend my life attempting to alleviate them. Excellent care—the most important thing—is given in both clinics, but I can’t help but wondering when the 5^th floor’s last paint job was. I know about reimbursement issues, but I can’t help but wish the two clinics could be equally beautiful, and feel somewhat stung that they are not.

Of all the clinic sites, my activities at Cornell are the most diverse. In addition to my role as the book program coordinator, I am helping with several clinical research studies, and attend grand rounds or another medical lecture once or twice a week. On Mondays, I also shadow a physician for a few hours. The Monday shadowing is in the “preemie follow-up clinic,” where the development of premature infants (now older and living at home) is tracked until the medical team feels confident that the child is developing appropriately, and is receiving services, if any are needed.

Building the Plane while Flying it

I'm starting to understand why "Build the plane while flying it" was on the page.

During my first supervision meeting (about 3 months ago!), my supervisor and I went over a page of Umoja's guiding principles. Some of the listed principles included keeping students at the center, and meeting students where they are. My supervisor went through the list and discussed some of what she thought were the most important principles (though she stressed that all are important). Most of the principles were self-explanatory or seemed obviously relevant to my work. When we reviewed the principle "build the plane while flying it," I remember thinking that really only applied to the staff members in director positions or the chief officers. The idea behind the principle is this: Umoja does really great work for the students, teachers, and communities that it serves. In order to do good work, you sometimes need to take risks. Moreover, you need to follow through. I believe that this is part of the beauty of the organization. It has also taken some getting used to.

I don't want to go picture-crazy in this post so I will just attach one from the open mic that we just had on Thursday.


The event was coordinated by one of the teachers at the school and the Writers Workshop students I work with helped put up fliers, they all attended the event, and a few of our students (such as the one pictured above) performed. The event was well attended (as I hope you can see from the picture), and there was so much talent in the room. I would definitely call the event a success.

I am one of the facilitators for the Umoja Writers Workshop. Since I was an English/Creative Writing student at Princeton, I figured the particular position would be a perfect fit for me. This has definitely been a learning opportunity. The Writers Workshop is not new to Umoja and the bar has been set high. The challenge for me has been trying to maintain the standard for a group when I am new to the group and have never facilitated a group of more than 15 or so students (Writers Workshop has 30). My co-facilitators for the group are two of the chief officers of Umoja. I was nervous/intimidated about working with them but it has been such a great thing. As I discussed with my supervisor, even though I am facilitating this semester, this is also a time for learning and professional growth. That being said, there are days when one of the co-facilitators will lead (model) a particular activity so I can see how it is done and then work towards being able to lead that particular activity myself. We try to make sure that the program is rigorous but is engaging and relevant for the students. To do so, we have made a few changes to the curriculum, the structure of our day, as well as our facilitation styles. We recently had a group meeting with this year's facilitators and one of last year's facilitators to have some "thought partnership." We're building the plane while flying it. The program has already had 10 sessions but we are still adding to it, fixing it and working out the kinks. I don't know that we will ever be 100% satisfied but the point is to work towards that.

The concept of building the plane while flying it also applies to my fellowship at Umoja in general. My job responsibilities are not set in stone (and I have learned not to get too comfortable with anything). While I know that I am responsible for the Writers Workshop program and much of the background work required (such as coordinating field trips, etc), my other role was not clear for some time. I had a pretty good idea, however, that my other role would be in restorative justice. I recently began shadowing my supervisor in the Peace Room to run peace circles/peer mediation. We then recently discussed me working with the student leaders instead. I have learned to be patient throughout the process and to be ready to jump in wherever I'm needed. As I continue on with my fellowship, my position is still being crafted/redefined.

The greatest thing for me, to date, has been the relationships I have been building with the students, teachers, school staff, and the Umoja staff.

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In very different news, I had a great time meeting up with Emily (one of the D.C. fellows) yesterday. She was in Chicago for a conference and it was nice to catch up and exchange stories about our fellowship experiences :)

Homelessness Training Session

Yesterday I went to a training session about the emergency shelter system for families in Massachusetts. I was surprised at the hoops families have to jump through to be housed in a shelter. The state agencies deter families from applying, makes it very hard for them to be eligible, and makes it challenging for families to re-enter the shelter system if they leave. I was overwhelmed by the obvious faults of the system, but also the struggle that there aren’t easy solutions. Children’s HealthWatch, my fellowship organization, is working on report about the negative maternal and child health effects that are evident among families behind on rent. Typically the health of children is most compromised among homeless children, but our analyses revealed that families behind on rent have a strikingly similarly poor health status. I am struggling with what to do with this information and how positive change can be inflicted on the systemic level. My fellowship has both a research and a policy component and while I have done research before the policy side is more new to me. The policy side to scientific analyses is the area where I am learning so much about. At first glance there seem to be easy systemic solutions such as using funds for housing subsidies and housing stabilization to avoid the need for shelters. While MA policy does have a new emphasis on homelessness prevention what happens to the thousands of families already homeless? While it is clear the current system isn’t effective as all shelters are at capacity, yet more families need the services daily, how can the system transition into one where there is less of a need for shelters? At the point closest to impact, these children and families need a safe place to sleep tonight. I have been lucky to see examples of answers to some of my questions and thoughts in other research topics I’ve been working on. For example the there is a Food Stamps/SNAP coalition meeting that I attend monthly, where members of all sorts of different organizations come together to problem solve and brainstorm ways to reach more families and ensure families are getting the greatest benefit possible. This group has implemented many improvements to the program over the years and in one instance I know there change became a national standard. Having spent so much time at Princeton in the library researching and thinking through issues it is exciting to be in a position where I am still able to research and think through real life problems, but I have the opportunity to go one step further and see the action steps that follow.

Spotted: Former P55 mentor and current First Lady

My last few weeks in DC have been very exciting and very busy, but for the purposes of this blog entry I’ll focus on just one exciting event: Last week, my mentor took me and another P55 fellow to a Democratic National Committee event featuring Victoria Kennedy (the late Senator Ted Kennedy’s wife) and First Lady Michelle Obama. We had the opportunity to briefly meet Mrs. Obama, and of course, we excitedly informed her that we were fellow Princeton graduates and current Project 55 fellows. She responded with equally genuine excitement, telling us that she had formerly been a P55 mentor in Chicago (I will admit that at this point, we ruined the moment a little bit by replying, “We know!”) and wishing us luck with the remainder of our fellowship year.

It was a real treat to be able to see her speak in person – she was incredibly poised, eloquent, and sincere. Her remarks covered topics ranging from Bo Obama’s first birthday party (she referred to him as her “new son”) to her personal connection to the health care reform bill because of her father’s battle with multiple sclerosis and her hopes for the Democratic Party in the upcoming election.

The event was held at Mrs. Kennedy’s home, and in her introductory remarks, she mentioned that some of the first discussions about the recently passed health care reform legislation took place just a few years ago, in the dining room where we had all been munching on hors d’oeuvres minutes earlier. I felt like I was being given an intimate glimpse into the personal and professional lives of some of the country’s most important Democratic policymakers – I was a real “Washington insider,” if only for one night.

After the event, I had dinner with the other P55 fellow and both of our mentors. We had a great conversation about our various career trajectories and our experiences at Princeton. (Apparently, back in 1995, there was neither a Starbucks nor a J. Crew on Nassau Street… hard to imagine, I know.) They also gave us both helpful tips on networking at conferences and suggestions for improving our fellowship experience.

My experience with the mentoring component of my P55 fellowship has been fantastic – and not just because my mentor cooked dinner for me and brought me to an exciting political event (although those things were great!). As I navigate this new, unfamiliar job in a new, unfamiliar city, it’s been very comforting to know that I have the support of a fellow Princeton alum who genuinely wants to help me adjust and succeed, both personally and professionally.

Looking forward

Seeing my partner in crime at the Foundation Center making an appearance on the blog reminded me that I should put in a word about my own experience here.

One of the great things about working at the Foundation Center is the convenient access to the many resources that it has to offer. October has been "Arts Month" at the Foundation Center, featuring programming related to everything from finding fiscal sponsorship as an artist to engaging celebrities with your organization. I've made an effort to go to a number of these events, primarily because I consider myself an artist (of the musical variety) and so am interested on both a professional and personal level. Though I've decided at this point that I don't plan on pursuing music full-time as a profession (unless something really remarkable were to happen in the next year...), it is undeniably a passion of mine and a big part of why I wanted to be in New York this year, and something that I hope to pursue throughout my life. I also have a number of friends who are trying to "make it" in the arts world, so at the very least I reasoned that the knowledge I gained through these workshops could be of use to them.


I found some of the sessions more relevant to my interests than others, but they all confirmed that the arts organizations, and especially those related to music, are something that I care deeply about and hope to participate in or support for years to come. You don't have to become an artist, actor, or musician to realize that cultivating a love and appreciation for the arts in culture in society at large makes the world a generally more exciting and enjoyable place. A couple of decades down the line, I would love to be on the board of an arts organization, putting my enthusiasm to good use.

New Frontier

Ok, Ok, I just got an email reminding me to blog. I know I haven't blogged in a while, but in fairness I also haven't cleaned my room, put away my laundry, or done my dry cleaning in a while. At least I'm blogging now. I think that means I get to leave my clean and as-of-yet-unfolded laundry in a heap in my room. Right?

I recently passed a big milestone at the Foundation Center. I have now been working here longer than I've ever worked anywhere. All of my previous summer internships were 10-12 weeks, and I am now in week 13!

It's really exciting to see how different the last few weeks have been compared to weeks 10-12 of an internship.

I am becoming much more familiar and comfortable with the culture of the Foundation Center, and I'm feeling like I am positioned to make more meaningful contributions. For example, I made my first professional presentation to a group of co-workers about ways that FC NY can take advantage of social media tools.

If this had been an internship, that presentation would have been the end of my summer. I probably would have finished it near the end of my time, and then I would have stranded it as I went back to school. Now, instead, I'm starting to take action.

I just created a new facebook page for Foundation Center New York, which I hope will grow and become an interactive community for people in the nonprofit sector living and working in the NYC area. Check us out and like our page!

Foundation Center New York is a great resource for young nonprofit workers and our courses and materials could likely help each of your organizations as well. Besides, I set a goal of getting 500 people to like the page by December 31st, so I need you to help me out!

I've got plenty to work on now, and I'm just very exciting to be gearing up rather than finishing up!

This Month

I recently went to the first Princeton AlumniCorps panel discussion. The purpose was to discuss being a Board Member of a non-profit, and how to go about it, what it entails etc. I do not plan on joining a Board of a non-profit anytime in the near future, but found it interesting to hear others discuss their experiences, and concerns. So, if any of you are reading this blog, and are interested in volunteering for a local non-profit, or joining a board, you should contact John Shriver.

On a completely different topic, I urge you to go see Waiting For Superman if you have not done so already. This is the second documentary that I have seen discussing Educational Reform, and I found them both to be inspiring. True, I am biased, but nonetheless, I recommend it. There is a lot that pertains specifically to DC, and the current Educational debate that has been going on during the Mayoral election.

Cocoa-Soaked Realizations

I've never quite understood that phrase, Life is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're gonna get. If I have a box of chocolates, I am pretty sure that inside the box, there will be an assortment of chocolates. And I'll eat the chocolates. And they'll taste good. Simply put, I know what I'm gonna get.

The revised version of that Gumpian motto, then, seems to apply particularly well to this blog. I open it up, to be confronted with one of an assortment of fixed subjects. "An aspect of my professional responsibilities." (Mmm... milk chocolate.) "A new experience in a new city." (White chocolate.) "A conversation with my mentor." (That chocolate with the little pieces of almonds in it.)

So perhaps none of these posts shimmer with any resonance beyond the simple satisfaction of munching on a piece of chocolate. But at the end of a box of chocolates, I usually feel pretty good. And full. Full, and good. I think we'll all feel this way when this iteration of the fellowship blog comes to an end. We'll scroll past the group pic, give that text a scan and, if only briefly, we'll get consumed by the commonality and yet difference of the tapestry of the fellowship experience - say, the character education builders in DC, say, the social explorations of New York - but then, say, our struggles with acronyms and public transit, say, our initial confusions and gradual moves towards mastery, and we'll think to ourselves, What a Wonderful World -- You know, I probably shouldn't have eaten the whole box at once, but, ultimately, it was a beneficial decision...

The Technology Corridor

Everyday on my way to work at the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation, I drive by a sign that declares I-270 is the "Technology Corridor." For clarification, I-270 is the route that connects Northwest DC to the more suburban regions of the metro area, namely Bethesda and Rockville, where Aeras is located. In the past few weeks, I have gained more of an understanding of what this sign actually means.

Aeras, itself, is an excellent exemplar of the kind of technological activity that is taking place in this corner of our nation's capital. The organization, a product development partnership, collaborates with a broad range of other groups, including academic research intuitions, biotechnology firms, and pharmaceutical companies, to identify the best approaches to a new, and direly needed, TB vaccine (It is estimated that nearly 2 million people die from TB each year, and the current vaccine is widely regarded as ineffective in preventing against pulmonary TB in adults, which constitutes the vast majority of TB cases). Aeras is a unique organization because it has its own vaccine discovery, assessment, and manufacturing departments. At other PDPs, these services are provided by outside contractors. In the past few weeks, I have had the opportunity to explore what goes on in the lab here--in particular, the types of immunological techniques, such as intracellular cytokine staining, that Aeras researchers use to complete their assessments of vaccine candidates. In the future, I look forward to learning more about Aeras' state-of-the art manufacturing facility, which has the capacity to produce over 200 million doses of a new TB preventive.

I also had the opportunity to join my P55 mentor, Dr. Philip Murphy, for lunch and a tour of his laboratory at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda. Visiting the NIH campus was an awe-inspiring experience. The campus, a beautiful former estate of the Wilson family, is large to enough to house 60 buildings, while retaining its green and park-like landscape. Dr. Murphy works in the largest building on the campus, the Clinical Research Center, which also happens to be the largest government building in the United States. The building has numerous laboratories and patient facilities, all to provide the most cutting-edge resources to clinical researchers and the patients enrolled in their trials. For example, Dr. Murphy showed me one particular laboratory that has the capability, using lasers, to remove individual cells from a sample of human tissue.

So far, I have had a great experience in Washington, learning about the important research that is taking place in this great city. I very much look forward to experiencing and learning more as the year progresses.

Technically Assisting

Right now I'm procrastinating from collecting data about demographics and AYP status (Adequate Yearly Progress) about school districts. It can really take forever, but I'm finding that I enjoy collecting and analyzing data. And by analyzing, I mean sticking it into Excel and making a graph out of it, but I'm getting much better at using statistics. Which is good, because I've managed to never have taken a statistics course in my life.

I am in my third month of fellowship, and this means my health insurance has kicked in. Time to make every doctor's appointment ever. I feel like a grown-up.

My job responsibilities continue to broaden. While I still am the Maker of the Charts and the Recorder of the Minutes, I've been getting into more meetings with different people. I've helped create some videos that help advertise the different kinds of technical assistance we do.

I still hesitate in telling people that my organization does "technical assistance" because it sounds like IT. Foundations, Inc. does a lot of things under the umbrella of "technical assistance," including oversight of developing schools and educational programs, grant proposal assistance, helping education peers network, etc.

Of course, sometimes I'm kinda an IT person. By virtue of my age, I am a little more fluent with technology than your average adult over the age of 40, so often I am the go-to person for tech needs. It certainly makes me feel a lot smarter than COS 126 did.

I guess it's also important to mention that I was on a panel for Project 55 AlumniCorps Fellowships up in Princeton last Tuesday. It was fun, and I sincerely hope we can get more interest into the Philadelphia area! How can you resist a community who pronounces 'water' like 'wood-er'? (Yes, I grew up with this pronunciation and still slip sometimes...)

Promise Neighborhoods

It’s been two months since I began my fellowship at The Community Group (TCG) in Lawrence, MA. My experience so far has been gratifying, educational, and very enjoyable. TCG runs a variety of educational programs – preschools, a charter school, and after school programs in public schools. I’ve had the opportunity to work on many projects so far. Every week I help out with a teen parent support group at the local public high school. We try and teach the girls health, parenting, and life skills. I cannot imagine the challenges the girls face daily, yet they still manage to come to school every day and are on the road to graduating. I’m very happy to be able to support them in every way I can.

I’ve also worked on developing a mentoring program for TCG, have begun a healthy eating initiative for students and staff, and have served as a substitute teacher! Recently, I’ve been asked to put some of these projects aside for now, as TCG was just awarded a Promise Neighborhoods grant. (Has anyone seen Waiting for Superman?) Only 21 organizations in the country were given this opportunity. I’ve been asked to play a large role in organizing and implementing our grant. The goal of Promise Neighborhoods is to provide “cradle to career” services for children in one particular neighborhood in Lawrence. Modeled after the Harlem Children’s Zone, Promise Neighborhoods strives to improve educational outcomes for children by providing a spectrum of social support – everything from healthcare services to parental resources. I know I have a lot of hard work ahead of me, but I am very excited!